Housing wealth inequalities in Scotland: an evidence review: executive summary

The distribution of housing wealth plays an increasingly key role in shaping the distribution of wealth and income. The Scottish housing system has transformed over the last 40 years from a rental majority to almost two Scots in three owning their home. Housing wealth is now increasingly affected by new forms of property ownership, for instance, landlord investments, as well as by the key driver: the long term upward if uneven growth in real house prices. Not only is wealth growing for all housing asset owners, it starkly distinguishes them from those who do not own assets and those who are now increasingly reliant on the generosity of asset holders to transfer or otherwise support them in key life decisions such as buying a first home. Housing as an asset plays an important role in shaping the welfare opportunities of older households but it is not clear that this is an effective way of providing for the needs of older people or that there are suitable alternative forms of assistance for those who do not hold such assets. The evidence also supports the intuition that increasing wealth inequality can have lasting impacts that grow over time, helping explain both social immobility and the social gradient of health outcomes.